Transaxle

ABSTRACT

A transaxle with a brake of the present invention includes the braking device comprising a plurality of brake discs, fixing plates, and a brake operating member, wherein the brake discs have an inner gear tooth portion that can be fitted to an outer gear tooth portion of an output gear of the motor shaft so as not to rotate relative to the outer gear tooth portion and is slidably fixed in the axial direction of the motor shaft, wherein the fixing plates are fixed to the transaxle casing so as not to rotate relative to each other and are slidably fixed in the axial direction of the motor shaft, and wherein the brake operating member provides a predetermined gap between the fixing plates and the brake discs when the brake discs are not pressed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part application based on U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/121,234 filed on Dec. 14, 2020, which isa continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/363,535filed on Mar. 25, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/947,137 filed on Apr. 6, 2018, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/738,410filed on Jun. 12, 2015.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a transaxle including a hydrostatictransmission (hereinafter, “HST”), an axle driven by the HST, atransaxle connected to a control lever for operating the HST, and avehicle including the transaxle. The disclosure relates particularly tothe transaxle including a mechanism that automatically returns thecontrol lever to a neutral position. Specifically, this transaxleincludes a parking brake mechanism that mechanically keeps the parkingstate of a vehicle.

Related Art

Conventionally, as disclosed in U.S. 2015/0007555 A1, there is awell-known hydraulic transaxle that serves as each of right and lefttransaxles carrying respective right and left axles of a zero-turnvehicle, e.g., a lawn mower. The transaxle includes an HST, an axle anda reduction gear train transmitting power from the HST to the axle. TheHST includes a hydraulic pump for receiving power from a prime mover, ahydraulic motor for outputting power to the reduction gear train, and acenter section. The hydraulic pump and motor are mounted on the centersection and are fluidly connected to each other via fluid passagesformed in the center section. The transaxle is connected to the controllever for operating the HST, and configured to be able to switch forwardand backward movements of the vehicle or perform an acceleration ordeceleration operation by rotating the control lever.

The transaxle includes a gear locking mechanism, as a parking brakemechanism of the vehicle, configured to retain a gear that constitutes areduction gear train such that the gear locking mechanism retains thegear of the reduction gear train with a retaining pawl to brake theaxle.

A vehicle including such a transaxle includes an axle supported by thetransaxle casing, a HST disposed in the transaxle casing; and a brakingdevice that is disposed in the transaxle casing and locks a rotation ofthe axle. The braking device includes an external park ball brake, adisc brake fitted to the motor shaft, and the like. Preferably the brakedevice has a small number of parts, and preferably the brake device isstored in a transmission case or the like to reduce the arrangementspace. The brake device composed of a disc brake is provided with anoperating tool for operating the brake arm, and the brake arm isoperated by operating the operating tool to lock the rotation of theaxle. The rotation of the brake arm causes the lock shaft to rotate, andthe brake operating member that rotates with the lock shaft presses thebrake disc to lock the rotation of the axle.

The brake disc is fitted to the motor shaft of the motor thatconstitutes the continuously variable transmission. The brake disc canbe fitted to the outer gear tooth portion of the output gear of themotor shaft so as not to rotate relative to each other, and is slidablyfixed in the axial direction of the motor shaft.

The brake discs are stacked alternately with fixing plates and fitted tothe motor shaft. When the brake discs and the fixing plates move towardthe distal end of the motor shaft side in the axial direction of themotor shaft, they may come off from the motor shaft. A mechanism isneeded to prevent the brake discs and fixing plates from coming off fromthe motor shaft. In order to prevent the brake discs and the fixingplates from coming off, it is necessary to hold down two or more partson the surface of the brake discs or the fixing plates.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a transaxleincluding a braking unit, in which the transaxle is capable ofpreventing the brake disc and fixing plate from coming off with a smallnumber of parts.

SUMMARY

In order to achieve the object, a transaxle with a brake of the presentinvention includes a transaxle casing, an axle supported by thetransaxle casing, a continuously variable transmission disposed in thetransaxle casing, a braking device that is disposed in the transaxlecasing and locks a rotation of the axle, wherein a motor shaft of thecontinuously variable transmission is supported by the motor supportingmember, wherein the braking device comprises a plurality of brake discs,fixing plates that are stacked alternately with the brake discs, and abrake operating member that presses the brake discs against the brakecontact surface of the fixing plate and the motor supporting member,wherein the brake discs have an inner gear tooth portion that can befitted to an outer gear tooth portion of an output gear of the motorshaft so as not to rotate relative to the outer gear tooth portion andis slidably fixed in the axial direction of the motor shaft, wherein thefixing plates are fixed to the transaxle casing so as not to rotaterelative to each other and are slidably fixed in the axial direction ofthe motor shaft, and wherein the brake operating member provides apredetermined gap between the fixing plates and the brake discs when thebrake discs are not pressed.

With such a configuration, the brake operating member presses the fixedplates and the brake discs to press the brake discs against the surfaceof the fixed plates to brake the brake disc together with the outputgear. When the brake disc is not pressed, a predetermined gap can beprovided between the fixed plate and the brake disc to allow the brakedisc to rotate and release the brake.

Preferably, the brake operating member has a brake finger that pressesthe outermost fixing plate (i.e., the fixing plate closest to the distalend of the tip portion of the motor shaft) toward the brake contactsurface at the time of braking operation and the brake finger faces theoutermost fixing plate so as to prevent the brake discs and the fixingplates from coming off from the output gear when the brake is notoperated.

With such a configuration, when the brake is not operated, the brakefinger facing the outermost fixing plate can prevent the brake disc andthe plate from coming off from the output gear.

Preferably, a stopper is fixedly provided to the transaxle casing at aposition facing the brake finger, the stopper has a first leg portionformed by bending on one side of a plate-shaped main body member, andthe end of the first leg portion is made to face the outermost fixingplate to prevent the brake discs and the fixing plates from coming offfrom the output gear.

With such a configuration, the end of the first leg of the brake fingerand the stopper holds down two parts of the surface of the fixing plateso as to prevent the brake disc and fixing plate from coming off fromthe output gear firmly.

Preferably, a stopper is fixedly provided to the transaxle casing at aposition facing the brake finger, the stopper has a second leg portionformed by bending on one side of a plate-shaped main body member, andthe end of the second leg portion is penetrated into the openingsprovided in line in each of the fixing plates so as to prevent rotationof the fixing plates.

With such a configuration, a plurality of fixing plates can be fixedregardless of the rotation of the output gear by fixing one end of thefixing plate with the stopper.

Preferably, a stopper is fixedly provided to the transaxle casing at aposition facing the brake finger, the stopper has a first leg portionand a second leg portion formed next to each other by bending on oneside of a plate-shaped main body member, the second leg portion isconfigured to be longer than the first leg portion, the end of the firstleg portion is made to face the outermost fixing plate to prevent thebrake discs and the fixing plates from coming off from the output gear,and the end of the first leg portion is made to face the outermostfixing plate to prevent the brake discs and the fixing plates fromcoming off from the output gear and the end of the second leg portion ispenetrated into the openings provided in line in each of the fixingplates so as to prevent rotation of the fixing plates.

With such a configuration, the end of the first leg of the brake fingerand the stopper holds down two parts of the surface of the fixing plateso as to prevent the brake disc and fixing plate from coming off fromthe output gear firmly. Furthermore, a plurality of fixing plates can befixed regardless of the rotation of the output gear by fixing one end ofthe fixing plate with the stopper.

These and other objects, features and advantages of any systems andmethods of this disclosure will appear more fully from the followingdetailed description with reference to attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a lawn mower serving as a zero-turnvehicle equipped with right and left transaxles and right and leftcontrol levers for controlling the respective transaxles.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the right transaxle serving as the transaxleaccording to the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the right transaxle taken alongIII-III arrows of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a sectional bottom view of the right transaxle taken alongIV-IV arrows of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along V-V arrows of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken along VI-VI arrows of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken along VII-VII arrows of FIG. 3 .

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a principal portion of FIG. 3 showing abrake.

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the right transaxle.

FIG. 10 is a right side view partly in section of the right transaxle.

FIG. 11 is a right side view of the left transaxle.

FIG. 12 is a right side view of a speed control arm of the righttransaxle located at a neutral position.

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the speed control arm rotated from theneutral position in the direction for forward rotation of thecorresponding axle when the speed control arm reaches a predeterminedangle.

FIG. 14 is a right side view of the speed control arm rotated in thedirection for forward rotation of the corresponding axle when the speedcontrol arm reaches a maximum angle.

FIG. 15 is a right side view of the speed control arm rotated in thedirection for backward rotation of the corresponding axle when the speedcontrol arm reaches a maximum angle.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the relationship between the operator'smanipulation force required to operate the speed control arm in thedirection for forward and backward rotation against force of neutralreturn spring and the motor rotation speed.

FIG. 17 is a left side view of the right transaxle including a linkmechanism in a second configuration in which the starting end of a linkrod is located on virtual reference line Y (or near the reference line)when a parking brake is in operation (when the parking brake is not inoperation).

FIG. 18 is a left side view of the right transaxle including the linkmechanism in the second configuration in which the starting end of thelink rod is located on virtual reference line Y (or near the referenceline) when the parking brake is in operation (when the parking brake isin operation).

FIG. 19A is a left side view of a parking brake arm installed with areturn spring showing the release state of the parking brake, and FIG.19B is a left side view of the parking brake arm installed with thereturn spring showing the operating state of the parking brake.

FIG. 20 is a left side view of the right transaxle (when the parkingbrake is not in operation) including a link mechanism in a firstconfiguration in which the starting end of a link rod is over virtualreference line Y when the parking brake is in operation.

FIG. 21 is a left side view of the right transaxle (when the parkingbrake is in operation) including the link mechanism in the firstconfiguration in which the starting end of the link rod is over virtualreference line Y when the parking brake is in operation.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a partial schematic of the controlmechanism for a left and right transaxle including a link mechanismhaving a third configuration.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a partial schematic of the controlmechanism for a left and right transaxle including a link mechanismhaving a fourth configuration.

FIG. 24 is a sectional view taken along line FIG. 24 -FIG. 24 of FIG. 26.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view taken along line FIG. 25 -FIG. 25 of FIG. 26.

FIG. 26 is a left side view of the parking brake arm and the relay armwhen the parking brake pedal is not depressed and in an off state, andthe left and right control levers are in the neutral position.

FIG. 27 is a left side view of the parking brake arm and the relay armwhen the parking brake pedal is in an off state and the left and rightcontrol levers are in the maximum reverse position.

FIG. 28 is a left side view of the parking brake arm and the relay armwhen the parking brake pedal is depressed and in an on state, and theleft and right control levers move from the maximum reverse position tothe neutral position.

FIG. 29 is a left side view of the parking brake arm and the relay armwhen the parking brake pedal is in an off state and the left and rightcontrol levers are in the maximum reverse forward position.

FIG. 30 is a left side view of the parking brake arm and the relay armwhen the parking brake pedal is in an on state and the left and rightcontrol levers move from the maximum forward position to the neutralposition.

FIG. 31 shows a cross section of the brake mechanism which has a brakeoperation shaft.

FIG. 32 shows an exploded view of the motor shaft, brake disc and fixedplate assembly.

FIG. 33 shows a perspective view of the motor shaft and brake operationshaft stored in the motor shaft case.

FIG. 34 shows the configuration of fixing plate, brake discs andstopper.

FIG. 35 shows brake operating shaft, intermediate gear shaft, and bevelpinion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1 , a lawn mower (hereinafter simply referred to as“vehicle”) 100 serving as a typical zero-turn vehicle is equipped withright and left transaxle 1R and 1L carrying respective right and leftaxles 2R and 2L, and is equipped with right and left control levers 60Rand 60L for controlling respective right and left transaxles 1R and 1L.Hereinafter, all the descriptions will be given on an assumption thatright and left transaxles 1R and 1L are provided therebetween with acenterline disposed at the lateral middle position of vehicle 100 andextended in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle 100, so that the sideor direction of each of transaxles 1R and 1L close to the centerline isreferred to as “proximal”, and the side or direction of each oftransaxles 1R and 1L opposite or away from the centerline is referred toas “distal”. Therefore, right transaxle 1R has its left side as itsproximal side, and has its right side as its distal side, and lefttransaxle 1L has its right side as its proximal side, and has its leftside as its distal side.

Vehicle 100 includes a vehicle body frame 4 having right and leftparallel sideboards 4 a extended in the fore-and-aft horizontaldirection thereof. Vehicle body frame 4 supports right and lefttransaxles 1R and 1L so that transaxle casings 10 of right and lefttransaxles 1R and 1L are disposed in the inside of vehicle body frame 4,i.e., between right and left sideboards 4 a when viewed in plan. Rightaxle 2R is extended rightward from transaxle casing 10 of righttransaxle 1R to the outside of right sideboard 4 a of vehicle body frame4 so as to be fixed at a distal end thereof to right drive wheel 3R.Left axle 2L is extended leftward from transaxle casing 10 of lefttransaxle 1L to the outside of left sideboard 4 a of vehicle body frame4 so as to be fixed at a distal end thereof to left drive wheel 3L.Right and left transaxles 1R and 1L are disposed in vehicle 100 so as tolaterally extend right and left axles 2R and 2L coaxially to each other.

Right and left drive wheels 3R and 3L serving as rear wheels of vehicle100 are disposed on the right and left outsides of a rear portion ofvehicle body frame 4. A front end portion of vehicle body frame 4supports castors (or castor) 5 serving as front wheels (or a frontwheel) of vehicle 100. A mower unit 6 is disposed below a fore-and-aftmiddle portion of vehicle body frame 4 between front wheels 5 and rearwheels 3R and 3L. Mower unit 6 is provided with PTO (Power Take Off)pulleys 9.

Further, vehicle 100 is equipped with an unshown prime mover, e.g., anengine, whose output power is transmitted from a double drive pulley 90of the prime mover via a belt 7 to input pulleys 14 of respective rightand left transaxles 1R and 1L. Belt 7 is looped over one pulley part ofdouble drive pulley 90 and right and left input pulleys 14, and atension pulley 91 applies a required tension onto belt 7.

Another belt 8 is looped over the other pulley part of double drivepulley 90 and PTO pulleys 9. Belt 8 is provided with a tension clutchpulley 92 adjacent to the proximal left side surface of right transaxle1R. When pulley 92 is pressed against belt 8 as drawn in solid lines inFIG. 1 , pulley 92 applies a tension to belt 8 so that the rotary powerof drive pulley 90 is transmitted to PTO pulleys 9 via belt 8 so as todrive rotary blades of mower unit 6. When pulley 92 is rotated away frombelt 8 and toward right transaxle 1R as phantom lines in FIG. 1 , thetension clutch serving as pulley 92 is clutched off, so that belt 8 hasno tension, whereby PTO pulleys 9 do not receive the rotary power ofdrive pulley 90 for driving the rotary blades of mower unit 6.

Transaxle casings 10 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L incorporaterespective parking brakes 69. Therefore, to operate parking brakes 69 ofright and left transaxles 1R and 1L, vehicle 100 is provided with aparking brake control mechanism 169 that includes a parking brake pedal64 serving as a manipulator for simultaneously shifting both parkingbrakes 69 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L between an activationstate and an inactivation state. Alternatively, the manipulator may be alever or the like. Parking brake pedal 64 is located in vehicle 100available for depression of parking brake pedal 64 by an operator'sfoot. By depressing parking brake pedal 64, both right and left drivewheels 3R and 3L are braked.

Brake control mechanism 169 includes right and left link rods 19R and19L extended rearward from parking brake pedal 64 to respectivetransaxle casings 10 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L. When viewedin plan, right and left link rods 19R and 19L are extended in thefore-and-aft direction of vehicle 100 in the space between right andleft sideboards 4 a and between transaxle casings 10 of right and lefttransaxles 1R and 1L, i.e., on the respective proximal sides oftransaxle casings 10 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L.Incidentally, each of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L is configuredso that one of right and left sides, i.e., proximal and distal sides, oftransaxle casing 10 is selective to have each link rod 19R or 19L. Inother words, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the proximal sides oftransaxle casings 10 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L are selectedfor arrangement of right and left link rods 19R and 19L.

Right and left link rods 18 are extended along respective right and leftsideboards 4 a rearward from respective right and left control levers60R and 60L to respective speed control arms 46 provided on distal sidesof respective transaxle casings 10 of right and left transaxles 1R and1L. When viewed in plan, right and left link rods 18 are extended in thefore-and-aft direction of vehicle 100 along respective right and leftsideboards 4 a. Incidentally, each of right and left transaxles 1R and1L is configured so that one of right and left sides, i.e., proximal anddistal sides, of transaxle casing 10 is selective to have speed controlarm 46. In other words, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the distalsides of transaxle casings 10 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L areselected for arrangement of speed control arms 46 and right and leftlink rods 18. Further, as understood from FIG. 2 illustratingrepresentative right transaxle 1R, each of right and left transaxles 1Rand 1L includes a neutral returning spring 47 on the distal side oftransaxle casing 10 with speed control arm 46.

As understood from FIG. 3 illustrating representative right transaxle1R, right control lever 60R is operable to change the tilt angle anddirection of a later-discussed movable swash plate 44 of an HST 20 ofright transaxle 1R so as to change the rotary speed and direction ofright rear wheel 3R. Left control lever 60L is operable to change thetilt angle and direction of movable swash plate 44 of HST 20 of lefttransaxle 1L so as to change the rotary speed and direction of left rearwheel 3L. When right and left control levers 60R and 60L aresynchronously manipulated by an operator, movable swash plates 44 ofHSTs 20 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L are synchronouslycontrolled to change the straight travel speed of vehicle 100 in eitherthe forward direction or the backward direction. When right and leftcontrol levers 60R and 60L are independently manipulated, movable swashplates 44 of HSTs 20 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L aredifferentially controlled so as to control the turn direction, angle,and speed of vehicle 100.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 10 , representative right transaxle 1R will bedescribed on an assumption that right and left transaxles 1R and 1L aresymmetric with respect to the above-mentioned laterally middlefore-and-aft centerline drawn in vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1 .Therefore, detailed description of left transaxle 1L is omitted becauseit is identical or similar to right transaxle 1R, excluding alater-discussed difference of connection of left link rod 19L to lefttransaxle 1L from connection of right link rod 19R to right transaxle1R.

Referring to FIG. 3 , right transaxle 1 includes transaxle casing 10,HST 20 disposed in a front portion of transaxle casing 10, a right axle2R journalled by a rear portion of transaxle casing 10, and a reductiongear train 70 disposed in the rear portion of transaxle casing 10 so asto drivingly connect HST 20 to right axle 2R.

Transaxle casing 10 includes an upper housing 11, a lower housing 12,and a top cover 13. Bolts 16 are screwed upward to fasten a flanged topedge of lower housing 12 to a bottom edge of upper housing 11 fringing abottom opening of upper housing 11. Bolts 17 are screwed downward tofasten a flanged bottom edge of top cover 13 to a top edge of a rearhalf portion of upper housing 11 fringing a top opening of the rear halfportion of upper housing 11. By joining upper housing 11 and lowerhousing 12 to each other at respective horizontal joint surfaces 11 kand 12 e thereof, a cavity of transaxle casing 10 is formed, and upperand lower housings 11 and 12 form a partition wall 10 c that divides thecavity of transaxle casing 10 into a front HST chamber 10 a and a reargear chamber 10 b.

The rear portion of upper housing 11 defining gear chamber 10 baccommodates reduction gear train 70. Top cover 13 covers an upperportion of reduction gear train 70 in gear chamber 10 b. The frontportions of upper and lower housings 11 and 12 defining HST 10 aaccommodate HST 20.

HST 20 includes a center section 30, a hydraulic pump 40, and ahydraulic motor 50. Center section 30 is entirely formed by castingintegrally with a horizontal pump port block portion 31, a slant motorport block portion 32, a bypass valve block portion 33, and a plurality(in this embodiment, four) of bolt boss portions 34 and 35. Motor portblock portion 32 is joined to pump port block portion 31 so as to extendrearwardly upward from a rear end of pump port block portion 31. Bypassvalve block portion 33 projects downward from motor port block portion32 so as to extend in the lateral horizontal portion.

As shown in FIG. 5 , pump port block portion 31 is formed therein withright and left pump kidney ports 31 b and 31 c and a pump shaft hole 31d between pump kidney ports 31 b and 31 c. A horizontal pump mountingsurface 31 a is formed on a top end of pump port block portion 31. Pumpkidney ports 31 b and 31 c and pump shaft hole 31 d are extendedvertically upward so as to be open at horizontal pump mounting surface31 a.

A horizontal filter mounting surface 31 e is formed on a bottom end ofpump port block portion 31. A circumferential area of filter mountingsurface 31 e is provided to contact a top edge of a cylindrical filter26. In this regard, when HST 20 is disposed in transaxle casing 10,filter 26 contacting filter mounting surface 31 e of center section 30is submerged in a fluid sump in chamber 10 a so that fluid is filteredby filter 26 when the fluid penetrates filter 26 from the fluid sump inchamber 10 a to the inside space of filter 26.

Right and left main fluid passages 36 and 37 are formed in pump portblock portion 31 so as to extend in the horizontal fore-and-aftdirection. Referring to FIG. 3 , right and left charge check valves 21are disposed in respective front portions of right and left main fluidpassages 36 and 37. Right and left suction ports 31 f are open at thebottom surface of center section 30 surrounded by filter mountingsurface 31 e. The fluid inside of filter 26 is introduced into eitherhydraulically depressed main fluid passage 36 or 37 via suction port 31f and corresponding charge check valve 21, thereby being supplied assupplementary hydraulic fluid to the closed fluid circuit of HST 20.

Referring to FIG. 4 , motor port block portion 32 is formed therein withright and left motor kidney ports 32 b and 32 c and a motor shaft hole32 d between motor kidney ports 32 b and 32 c. A slant upper end ofmotor port block portion 32 is formed as a rearwardly downward slantmotor mounting surface 32 a. Right and left main fluid passages 36 and37 are extended rearward into motor port block portion 32 so as to bejoined at rear ends thereof to respective right and left motor kidneyports 32 b and 32 c.

Referring to FIG. 5 , hydraulic pump 40 includes a pump shaft 41, a pumpcylinder block 42, plungers 43, and a movable swash plate 44. Pump shaft41 is fittingly passed through pump shaft hole 31 d in pump port blockportion 31 of center section 30 rotatably relative to center section 30.Pump cylinder block 42 is formed with a center through hole serving as apump shaft hole 42 a and with cylinder bores 42 b aligned radiallyaround pump shaft hole 42 a. Pump shaft 41 is fittingly passed throughpump shaft hole 42 a unrotatably relative to pump cylinder block 42.Pump cylinder block 42 is slidably rotatably fitted onto pump mountingsurface 31 a so as to fluidly connect cylinder bores 42 b therein topump kidney ports 31 b and 31 c. Plungers 43 are fitted into respectivecylinder bores 42 b reciprocally in the axial direction of pump shaft41. Movable swash plate 44 has a bearing 44 a abutting against heads ofplungers 43 projecting from pump cylinder block 42. In this way,hydraulic pump 40 is configured as an axial piston type hydraulic pump.

A front top portion of the ceiling wall of transaxle housing 11 isformed as a pump shaft support portion 11 b for supporting pump shaft41. Upper housing 11 is formed through right and left side walls of pumpsupport portion 11 b with right and left symmetric trunnion holes 11 c.Movable swash plate 44 of hydraulic pump 40 is a trunnion type movableswash plate, which is formed with right and left symmetric feet 44 bhaving respective right and left symmetric trunnion holes 44 c. Rightand left fixture pins 45 a fasten right and left feet 44 b of movableswash plate 44 to right and left trunnion shafts 45 fitted in trunnionholes 44 c.

Pump shaft support portion 11 b is formed with a vertical through holebh. An upper portion of pump shaft 41 projecting upward from pumpcylinder block 42 fitted on pump mounting surface 31 a of center section30 is freely passed through movable swash plate 44 and through verticalthrough hole bh of pump shaft support portion 11 b so as to projectupward from pump shaft support portion 11 b of transaxle housing 11. Abearing 41 a and a fluid seal 41 b are fitted in through hole bh of pumpshaft support portion 11 b so as to be interposed between pump shaft 41and pump shaft support portion 11 b of transaxle housing 11. Inputpulley 14 and a cooling fan 15 are fixed on the upper portion of pumpshaft 41 projecting upward from pump support portion 11 b of transaxlehousing 11.

Referring to FIG. 6 , hydraulic motor 50 includes a motor shaft 51, amotor cylinder block 52, plungers 53, and a movable swash plate 54.Motor shaft 51 is fitted into motor shaft hole 32 d in motor port blockportion 32 of center section 30 rotatably relative to center section 30.Motor cylinder block 52 is formed with a center through hole serving asa motor shaft hole 52 a and with cylinder bores 52 b aligned radiallyaround motor shaft hole 52 a. Motor shaft 51 is fittingly passed throughmotor shaft hole 52 a unrotatably relative to motor cylinder block 52.Motor cylinder block 52 is slidably rotatably fitted onto motor mountingsurface 32 a of center section 30 so as to fluidly connect cylinderbores 52 b therein to motor kidney ports 32 b and 32 c. Cylinder bores52 b are fluidly connected to cylinder bores 42 b in pump cylinder block42 via main fluid passages 36 and 37 of the closed fluid circuit of HST20 (see FIG. 5 ).

Plungers 53 are fitted into respective cylinder bores 52 b reciprocallyin the axial direction of motor shaft 51. A bearing abuts against headsof plungers 53 projecting from motor cylinder block 52 so as to serve asmovable swash plate 54. In this way, hydraulic motor 50 is configured asan axial piston type hydraulic motor.

Referring to FIG. 3 , a motor support member 56 is disposed in gearchamber 10 b, and is fastened to upper housing 11 by bolts 57. Movableswash plate 54 is a cradle type movable swash plate, which is rotatablyand slidably fitted to motor support member 56, and abuts against headsof plungers 53 projecting from motor cylinder block 52. Referring toFIG. 6 , upper housing 11 is formed through right and left side walls ofa fore-and-aft intermediate portion thereof with right and leftsymmetric trunnion holes 11 h. Movable swash plate 54 is fixed at eithera right or left end thereof to a trunnion arm 55. A trunnion shaft 55 aprojects horizontally from trunnion arm 55 and is fitted into one ofright and left trunnion holes 11 h rotatably relative to upper housing11. Remaining trunnion hole 11 h is plugged by a cap 65.

An operation lever (not shown) is fixed on a tip portion of trunnionshaft 55 a projecting outward from transaxle casing 10. This operationlever for controlling movable swash plate 54 of hydraulic motor 50 canbe used to adjust an output scale of transaxle 1R or 1L incorrespondence to a vehicle maker's demand, or to minutely adjust theoutput performance of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L for keepingthe ability of vehicle 100 in straight traveling when control levers 60Rand 60L are operated for the straight traveling. In which directiontrunnion shaft 45 projects is selected in consideration of facility inwork for the above-mentioned output adjustment of transaxle 1R or 1L.

Right and left trunnion shafts 45 have respective tip portionsprojecting outward from the right and left side surfaces, i.e., distaland proximal side surfaces, of upper housing 11 of transaxle casing 10.Referring to FIG. 4 , a speed control arm 46 is fixed on the right tipportion of right trunnion shaft 45 projecting outward from the distalright side surface of upper housing 11 so that the tilt angle anddirection of movable swash plate 44 of hydraulic pump 40 is controlledby rotating speed control arm 46.

Neutral return spring 47 is wound around the tip portion of righttrunnion shaft 45 between speed control arm 46 and the distal right sidesurface of upper housing 11 so as to have both end portions Eu and Eltwisted to cross each other and extended rearward. A nut 46 a is screwedon the tip portion of right trunnion shaft 45 outside of speed controlarm 46 so as to prevent speed control arm 46 and neutral return spring47 from falling from right trunnion shaft 45.

Referring to FIG. 10 , speed control arm 46 has a basal end portionattached on the right tip portion of right trunnion shaft 45, and has atip portion formed with a later-discussed hole 46 c into which a rearend portion of a later-discussed link rod 18 is fitted, so that speedcontrol arm 46 is extended upward from the basal end thereof to the tipend thereof. Speed control arm 46 is formed with a rear branchingportion that extends rearward from the basal end portion of speedcontrol arm 46 so as to cover front halves of end portions Eu and El ofneutral return spring 47 extended rearward from their mutual crossingportions. The rear branching portion is bent to have a rear end portionthat is extended proximally toward the distal right side surface ofupper housing 11 of transaxle casing 10 so as to serve as a pressureplate 46 b. Of both end portions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47,a rear half of upper end portion Eu is extended to above pressure plate46 b, a rear half of lower end portion El is extended to below pressureplate 46 b, and pressure plate 46 b is disposed in halfways ofrear-extended-shaped end portions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47.When speed control arm 46 is disposed at the neutral position, upper endportion Eu of neutral return spring 47 is not in contact with aneccentric pin 49 (to be described later), but lower end portion El is incontact with eccentric pin 49.

When pressure plate 46 b moves upward by rotating speed control arm 46,pressure plate 46 b pushes upper end portion Eu of neutral return spring47 upward. As upper end portion Eu of neutral return spring 47 pushed bypressure plate 46 b moves upward after lower end portion El of neutralreturn spring 47 abuts against an eccentric pin 49, the gap betweenupper and lower end portions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 isexpanded so that neutral return spring 47 generates a biasing force thatbiases upper and lower end portions Eu and El toward each other.

The right side wall of upper housing 11 of transaxle casing 10adjacently rearward from right trunnion shaft 45 having speed controlarm 46 and neutral returning spring 47 thereon is formed with aneccentric pin hole 11 d, and a laterally horizontal axis shaft 49 a ofeccentric pin 49 is fitted into eccentric pin hole 11 d. In this regard,the right and left side walls of transaxle housing 11 adjacentlyrearward from right and left trunnion holes 11 c are formed to havesufficient thickness before boring eccentric pin hole 11 d so thateither the right or left wall can be selectively bored with eccentricpin hole 11 d.

Eccentric pin 49 is fitted on a portion of axis shaft 49 a projectingoutward from transaxle housing 11 and a nut is screwed on a distal endof axis shaft 49 a so as to fasten eccentric pin 49 to axis shaft 49 a.The nut is loosened to abut lower end portions El of neutral returnspring 47 on eccentric pin 49 as illustrated in FIG. 12 , and the nut istightened when the rotation of eccentric pin 49 is adjusted to reach thereal neutral position of movable swash plate 44 for stopping the oildischarged from hydraulic pump 40, which allows eccentric pin 49 to befixed. In this regard, by loosening the nut, the rotational position ofeccentric pin 49 pinched by neutral returning spring 47 relative to axisshaft 49 a can be changed to adjust the neutral position of speedcontrol arm 46 relative to the neutral position of movable swash plate44.

Reduction gear train 70 disposed in gear chamber 10 b will now bedescribed.

Referring to FIG. 6 , a laterally horizontal intermediate gear shaft 72is disposed in gear chamber 10 b. Upper housing 11 is formed with rightand left support portions 11 i that journal right and left ends ofintermediate gear shaft 72. A bevel gear 73 is formed with a spur pinion74, and is fixed on intermediate gear shaft 72. Bevel gear 73 mesheswith a bevel pinion 71 fixed on an upper portion of motor shaft 51.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a spur bull gear 77 is fixed on right axle 2Rsupported by upper housing 11 and meshes with spur pinion 74. Therefore,bevel pinion 71, bevel gear 73, spur pinion 74 and spur bull gear 77constitute reduction gear train 70 for transmitting power from motorshaft 51 of HST 20 to right axle 2R.

Referring to FIG. 7 , intermediate gear shaft 72 is pivotally supportedby upper housing 11 via right and left bearings 72 a and 72 b fixed inrespective right and left support portions 11 i of upper housing 11 soas to be rotatable relative to transaxle casing 10. Referring to FIG. 10, bearing covers 75 are fastened to respective support portions 11 i ofupper housing 11 by bolts 76 so as to cover top portions of respectivebearings 72 a and 72 b.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a discoid magnet 66 is disposed in gear chamber 10b below a later-discussed brake operation shaft 79, and is supported byupper and lower housings 11 and 12 joined to each other so as to adsorbiron powder mixed in fluid in gear chamber 10 b.

A defoaming pipe 61 is extended in the fore-and-aft horizontaldirection, and is interposed between an upper portion of the frontportion of upper housing 11 defining HST chamber 10 a and a frontportion of top cover 13 defining gear chamber 10 b. A front end portionof defoaming pipe 61 is bent to extend vertically downward, and isfitted into a vertical hole of a boss 11 f formed at a rear portion ofpump shaft support portion 11 b of upper housing 11, so that adownwardly open front end of defoaming pipe 61 is open to the upperportion of HST chamber 10 a. A rear end portion of defoaming pipe 61 isfitted into a fore-and-aft horizontal hole of a boss 13 b formed at afront portion of top cover 13, so that a rearwardly open rear end ofdefoaming pipe 61 is open to the upper portion of gear chamber 10 b.Therefore, air foam rising in the fluid in HST chamber 10 a isintroduced into defoaming pipe 61 and is moved from HST chamber 10 a togear chamber 10 b via defoaming pipe 61.

A top portion of top cover 13 is provided with a breather 62 forbreathing an air space in gear chamber 10 b to the atmosphere. In theupper portion of gear chamber 10 b in top cover 13, a horizontalpartition plate 63 is settled just below breather 62 so as to preventfluid splashed up by the gears of reduction gear train 70 from enteringbreather 62. A metal plate serves as partition plate 63, for example.Partition plate 63 is formed with notches 63 a at front and rear edges,and ribs 13 c formed on top cover 13 to define passages for air andfluid between gear chamber 10 b and breather 62 are fittingly passedthrough front and rear notches 63 a of partition plate 63.

A parking brake 69 of right transaxle 1R will now be described.

Referring to FIG. 8 , motor support member 56 is formed with arearwardly upward slant through hole 56 a. A bearing 51 a is fitted inhole 56 a. The upper portion of motor shaft 51 projecting rearwardlyupward from motor cylinder block 52 is passed through movable swashplate 54 and is journalled by motor support member 56 via bearing 51 a.

Motor support member 56 is formed with a flat surface 56 b perpendicularto motor shaft 51. Bevel pinion 71 is fixed on the tip portion of motorshaft 51. More specifically, bevel pinion 71 is spline-fitted on the tipportion of motor shaft 51, and a circular clip 51 b is engaged on thetip portion of motor shaft 51 so as to locate bevel pinion 71.

An annular brake surface member 59 a is fitted on flat surface 56 b ofmotor support member 56, and is partly extended onto an upper surface ofmotor support member 56. Brake discs 58 are disposed parallel to brakesurface member 59 a, and are engaged with teeth of bevel pinion 71 so asto be unrotatable relative to bevel pinion 71 and so as to be slidableon bevel pinion 71 in the axial direction of motor shaft 51.Plate-shaped retainers 59 b as many as brake discs 58 are layeredalternately with brake discs 58, and are fixed to the upper surface ofmotor support member 56. Retainers 59 b are bent to extend parallel tobrake discs 58 so as to be layered alternately with brake discs 58,thereby restricting the slidable range of brake discs 58. Outermostretainer 59 b prevents brake discs 58 from moving to disengage frombevel pinion 71.

Referring to FIG. 7 , right and left symmetric shaft holes 11 j areformed through right and left side walls of upper housing 11, andlaterally horizontal brake operation shaft 79 is pivotally supported atright and left end portions thereof through right and left shaft holes11 j rotatably relative to upper housing 11. The left end of brakeoperation shaft 79 projecting outward from upper housing 11 is selectedto have a parking brake arm 78 fixed thereon. More specifically, brakeoperation shaft 79 has the end portion projecting outward from theproximal side surface of transaxle casing 10 opposite the distal sidesurface of transaxle casing 10 from which right axle 2R projectsoutward. Parking brake arm 78 is disposed in the proximal outside oftransaxle casing 10 and is connected to the projecting end portion ofbrake operation shaft 79 pivotally on the axis of brake operation shaft79.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in gear chamber 10 b, when viewed in side, atriangular space is provided between rearwardly upward extendedhydraulic motor 50 and bull gear 77, and is used to locate brakeoperation shaft 79 and a pressure arm 80. In gear chamber 10 b, pressurearm 80 is fixed on brake operation shaft 79. A tip portion of pressurearm 80 is formed with a pawl 80 a to be pressed against brake discs 58.When parking brake arm 78 is located at an unbraking position, pawl 80 ais separated from brake discs 58. When parking brake arm 78 is locatedat a braking position, as shown in FIG. 8 , pawl 80 a is pressed againstbrake discs 58 so as to press brake discs 58 against surfaces ofretainers 59 b and brake surface member 59 a, thereby braking bevelpinion 71 together with brake discs 58.

Referring to FIG. 1 , as mentioned above, vehicle 100 is provided withparking brake control mechanism 169 configured to rotate parking brakearms 78 of right and left transaxles 1R and 1L according to operation ofparking brake pedal 64. Parking brake control mechanism 169 will now bedescribed in detail. As shown in FIG. 1 , each of right and left linkrods 19R and 19L has a front end serving as a starting end 19 a, and hasa rear end serving as a terminal end 19 b. Starting ends 19 a of rightand left link rods 19R and 19L are connected to parking brake pedal 64.

Referring to FIG. 1 , while right and left axles 2R and 2L of respectiveright and left transaxles 1R and 1L are disposed coaxially to eachother, terminal ends 19 b of respective link rods 19R and 19L arelocated at different positions in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle100 so as to be connected to respective right and left transaxles 1R and1L. More specifically, terminal end 19 b of right link rod 19R isdisposed forward from terminal end 19 b of left link rod 19L.

Now, left transaxle 1L having parking brake arm 78 connected to leftlink rod 19L will be described with reference to FIG. 11 . Lefttransaxle 1L includes parking brake arm 78 fixed on the right endportion of brake operation shaft 79 projecting rightward from theproximal right side surface of transaxle casing 10. In this regard,parking brake arm 78 is formed in a basal end portion thereof with apivot hole 78 a, into which the proximal right end portion of brakeoperation shaft 79 is inserted fixedly (i.e., unrotatably relative toparking brake arm 78). Parking brake arm 78 of left transaxle 1L isextended upward from its basal end portion provided on the right endportion of brake operation shaft 79 so as to have an upper end portionformed with a connection hole 78 b, into which terminal end 19 b of leftlink rod 19L is fitted pivotally (i.e., rotatably relative to parkingbrake arm 78).

In this regard, as mentioned above, tension pulley 91 is disposed at theproximal right side of the proximal right side surface of transaxlecasing 10 of left transaxle 1L adjacently to left transaxle 1L, however,it cannot happen that tension pulley 91 approaches transaxle casing 10of left transaxle 1L so as to interfere with left link rod 19L, becausetension pulley 91 that is fixed in location except for its rotatabilityaccording to driving belt 7 does not come to intersect left link rod19L. Therefore, left transaxle 1L employs the ordinary way for itsconnection to left link rod 19L so that terminal end 19 b of left linkrod 19L is connected to the upper end portion of parking brake arm 78extended upward from its basal end portion fixed on the end of brakeoperation shaft 79.

When parking brake pedal 64 is depressed, left link rod 19L is pulledtogether with right link rod 19R forward so as to rotate the upper endportion of parking brake arm 78 of left transaxle 1L forward, therebycausing brake operation shaft 79 to rotate clockwise as designated by anarrow B1 when the proximal right side surface of transaxle casing 10 ofleft transaxle 1L is viewed as shown in FIG. 11 , i.e., counterclockwisein the left side view of left transaxle 1L. This rotation of brakeoperation shaft 79 causes pressure arm 80 to rotate so as to press pawl80 a against brake discs 58, thereby braking left axle 2L of lefttransaxle 1L.

On the contrary, right transaxle 1R having parking brake arm 78connected to right link rod 19R via a relay arm 81 and a link rod 83will be described. As mentioned above, vehicle 100 includes tensionclutch pulley 92 disposed adjacently at the proximal left side oftransaxle casing 10 of right transaxle 1R. When pulley 92 is operatedfor disengaging the tension clutch, pulley 92 approaches the proximalleft side surface of transaxle casing 10 of right transaxle 1R. In thisstate, if right link rod 19R were operatively connected to righttransaxle 1R in the same way as the connection of left link rod 19L toleft transaxle 1L, i.e., if parking brake arm 78 of right transaxle 1Rwere extended upward from brake operation shaft 79, and right link rod19R were directly connected at terminal end 19 b thereof to the upperend portion of parking brake arm 78, link rod 19R would interfere withpulley 92 operated for disengaging the tension clutch.

To avoid the interference of tension clutch pulley 92 with a link rodconnected to parking brake arm 78, first, parking brake arm 78 of righttransaxle 1R is extended downward from brake operation shaft 79 so as tohave a link rod connected to a lower end portion thereof via connectionhole 78 b below pulley 92. More specifically, parking brake arm 78 ofright transaxle 1R is identical to above-mentioned parking brake arm 78of left transaxle 1L. The proximal left end portion of brake operationshaft 79 projecting from the proximal left side surface of transaxlecasing 10 of right transaxle 1R is fixedly inserted into pivot hole 78 ain the basal end portion of parking brake arm 78 of right transaxle 1R.Parking brake arm 78 of right transaxle 1R is extended downward from thebasal end portion thereof provided on the left end portion brakeoperation shaft 79 so as to have connection hole 78 b in its lower endportion.

Therefore, in each of transaxles 1R and 1L, parking brake arm 78 isunrotatable relative to brake operation shaft 79 and is rotatablerelative to transaxle casing 10. Referring to FIGS. 4, 9 and 11 ,parking brake arm 78 has a pivotal axis P5 coinciding to the axis ofbrake operation shaft 79, and parking brake arm 78 is interlocked withbrake operation shaft 79 so that rotation of parking brake arm 78 causesrotation of brake operation shaft 79. Incidentally, parking brake arm 78may not be completely fixed to brake operation shaft 79, i.e., parkingbrake arm 78 may have a play range for rotation relative to brakeoperation shaft 79, only if pivotal axis P5 of parking brake arm 78coinciding to the axis of brake operation shaft 79 is ensured and therotation of parking brake arm 78 out of the rotational play range causesrotation of brake operation shaft 79.

For the above-mentioned purpose of preventing brake arm 78 or a link rodconnected to brake arm 78 from interfering with other members in vehicle100, it may be conceivable that parking brake arm 78 is extendeddownward and right link rod 19R is directly connected to the lower endportion of parking brake arm 78 of right transaxle 1R. However, itcauses another problem that the rotational direction of brake operationshaft 79 according to depression of parking brake pedal 64 comesopposite its proper rotational direction for applying the parking brake.In this regard, as understood from the description about rotation ofbrake operation shaft 79 of left transaxle 1L, the proper rotationaldirection of brake operation shaft 79 for activating parking brake 69for braking motor shaft 51 is counterclockwise in the left side view ofeach transaxle 1R or 1L. On the contrary, since link rod 19R is pulledforward together with link rod 19L according to the depression ofparking brake pedal 64, brake operation shaft 79 would rotate clockwisein the left side view of right transaxle 1R, i.e., opposite the properdirection for applying the parking brake, according to the forwardmovement of right link rod 19R by depressing parking brake pedal 64, ifterminal end 19 b of link rod 19R were directly connected to the lowerend portion of parking brake arm 78 extended downward from brakeoperation shaft 79.

Therefore, to match the rotational direction of brake operation shaft 79according to depression of parking brake pedal 64 with its properrotational direction for applying the parking brake, parking brakecontrol mechanism 169 includes relay arm 81 and link rod 83 interposedbetween right link rod 19R and the lower end portion of downwardlyextended parking brake arm 78 of right transaxle 1R, as shown in FIGS.1, 2, 4, 7, 9 and 10 . Incidentally, it should be noticed that link rod83 is omitted in FIG. 1 just for convenience in illustration.

Relay arm 81 is extended substantially vertically, and is pivoted at thevertical intermediate portion thereof on a pivotal axis provided on theproximal left side of transaxle casing 10 of right transaxle 1R so as tohave upper and lower ends opposite each other with respect to thepivotal axis of relay arm 81. Relay arm 81 includes an upper arm portion81 a extended upward from the pivotal axis to the upper end of relay arm81 so as to have an upper end portion connected to link rod 19R. Relayarm 81 includes a lower arm portion 81 b extended downward from thepivotal axis to the lower end of relay arm 81 so as to have a lower endportion connected to link rod 83, so that link rod 83 is interposedbetween the lower end portion of relay arm 81 and the lower end portionof parking brake arm 78 of right transaxle 1R, so that link rod 83 isdisposed below tension clutch pulley 92 safely from interfering withpulley 92. Relay arm 81 functions to convert the forward movement (asdesignated by an arrow B0 in FIG. 9 ) of right link rod 19R connected atits terminal end 19 b to the upper end portion of relay arm 81 accordingto depression of parking brake pedal 64 into the rearward movement oflink rod 83 interposed between the lower end portion of relay arm 81 andthe lower end portion of parking brake arm 78. As a result, when parkingbrake pedal 64 is depressed, link rod 83 connected at its terminal end83 b to the lower end portion of parking brake arm 78 is moved rearwardso as to rotate brake operation shaft 79 counterclockwise in the leftside view (as designated by arrow B1 in FIG. 9 ), i.e., in the properrotational direction to apply parking brake 69 of right transaxle 1R.

As mentioned above, link rod 83 is disposed below pulley 92 to avoid itsinterference with pulley 92. On the other hand, to prevent relay arm 81from interfering with tension clutch pulley 92, relay arm 81 may bedisposed at any position on the proximal left side of transaxle casing10 of right transaxle 1R forward from pulley 92. For example, a lateralhorizontal pivot shaft other than trunnion shafts 45 of movable swashplate 44 may be supported at a front end portion of transaxle casing 10so as to have relay arm 81 pivoted thereon, or relay arm 81 may bepivoted on a projection formed on transaxle casing 10 (e.g., upperhousing 11). However, in this embodiment, left trunnion shaft 45 servesas a relay shaft for pivoting relay arm 81 thereon in consideration ofthe convenience of the left end portion of left trunnion shaft 45, whichis left without speed control arm 46 thereon, and which is disposedforward from pulley 92 appropriately to avoid interference with pulley92.

In this regard, relay arm 81 is provided on the left end portion of lefttrunnion shaft 45 projecting leftwardly outward from the proximal leftside surface of upper housing 11, while speed control arm 46 is providedon the right end portion of right trunnion shaft 45 projectingrightwardly outward from the distal right side surface of upper housing11. Relay arm 81 is formed in the intermediate portion thereof with apivot hole 81 c. The left end portion of left trunnion shaft 45 ispassed through pivot hole 81 c. Relay arm 81 provided on left trunnionshaft 45 is formed with an upper connection hole 81 d in the upperportion of upper arm portion 81 a extended upward from pivot hole 81 c,and is formed with a lower connection hole 81 e in the lower end portionof lower arm portion 81 b extended downward from pivot hole 81 c. Acircular clip 82 is engaged on the left end portion of left trunnionshaft 45 at the proximal outside of relay arm 81 so as to prevent relayarm 81 falling from left trunnion shaft 45, however, so as to allowrelay arm 81 to rotate relative to trunnion shafts 45 of movable swashplate 44. In other words, relay arm 81 has a pivotal axis P1 coincidingto the axis of trunnion shaft 45, i.e., the axis of trunnion shaft 45serves as pivotal axis P1 for relay arm 81, however, relay arm 81 is notfixed to trunnion shaft 45, so that rotation of relay arm 81 does notcause rotation of trunnion shafts 45.

Referring to FIG. 2 , terminal end 19 b of right link rod 19R is bentdistally, i.e., rightward, toward transaxle casing 10 and is fitted intoconnection hole 81 d in the upper end portion of relay arm 81. Terminalend 19 b of link rod 19R has a pivotal axis P2 coinciding to a centralaxis of connection hole 81 d. In other words, terminal end 19 b of linkrod 19R and the upper end portion of relay arm 81 are connected to eachother so that they are centered on pivotal axis P2 rotatably relative toeach other. In this regard, right link rod 19R has the fore-and-aftlength between its starting and terminal ends 19 a and 19 b, which isshorter than that of left link rod 19L, so that terminal end 19 b ofright link rod 19R connected to the upper end portion of relay arm 81 isdisposed forward from terminal end 19 b of left link rod 19L connectedto the upper end portion of parking brake arm 78, as mentioned above.

Link rod 83 interposed between relay arm 81 and parking brake arm 78 isextended substantially in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle 100 soas to have a front end serving as a starting end 83 a and a rear endserving as a terminal end 83 b. Referring to FIG. 2 , link rod 83 isbent at starting and terminal ends 83 a and 83 b distally (i.e.,rightward) toward transaxle casing 10, so that starting end 83 a of linkrod 83 is fitted into connection hole 81 e in the lower end portion ofrelay arm 81, and terminal end 83 b of link rod 83 is fitted intoconnection hole 78 b in the lower end portion of parking brake arm 78.Starting end 83 a of link rod 83 has a pivotal axis P3 coinciding to acentral axis of connection hole 81 e. In other words, starting end 83 aof link rod 83 and the lower end portion of relay arm 81 are connectedto each other so that they are centered on pivotal axis P3 rotatablyrelative to each other. Terminal end 83 b of link rod 83 has a pivotalaxis P4 coinciding to a central axis of connection hole 78 b. In otherwords, terminal end 83 b of link rod 83 and the lower end portion ofparking brake arm 78 are connected to each other so that they arecentered on pivotal axis P4 rotatably relative to each other.

The dimension of upper arm portion 81 a of relay arm 81 is determined soas to have a distance D1 from pivotal axis P1 to pivotal axis P2. Thedimension of lower arm portion 81 b of relay arm 81 is determined so asto have a distance D2 from pivotal axis P1 to pivotal axis P3. The upperarm portion of relay arm 81 is shorter than the lower arm portion ofrelay arm 81 so that distance D1 is less than distance D2. Thisdimension setting of relay arm 81 having the difference betweendistances D1 and D2 corresponds to the difference between the length oflink rod 19R from starting end 19 a to terminal end 19 b and the lengthof link rod 83 from starting end 83 a to terminal end 83 b. Due to smalldistance D1, the movement of link rod 19R and upper arm portion 81 a ofrelay arm 81 upwardly extended from trunnion shaft 45 is reduced so asto avoid their interference with pulley 92 rearward disposed therefrom,and on the other hand, due to large distance D2, the movement of linkrod 83 and the rotation of parking brake arm 78 for applying parkingbrake 69 are enhanced efficiently relative to the reduced movement oflink rod 19R.

In this way, each of transaxles 1R and 1L can be selectively designed tohave parking brake arm 78 extended either upward or downward from brakeoperation shaft 79, and correspondingly, it can be selectively designedto have either a long link rod, such as foresaid left link rod 19L,directly connected at its terminal end to parking brake arm 78, ifparking brake arm 78 is extended upward, or a short link rod, such asforesaid right link rod 19R, connected at its terminal end via relay arm81 and link rod 83 to parking brake arm 78, if parking brake arm 78 isextended downward.

Description will be given of a mechanism for locating speed control arm46 of representative right transaxle 1R with reference to FIGS. 1 and 12to 15 . Description of that of left transaxle 1L is omitted on theassumption that right and left transaxles 1R and 1L are symmetric asmentioned above. Trunnion shaft 45 and speed control arm 46, especially,their rotational directions, are referred to on the assumption that theyappear in the right side view of right transaxle 1R as shown in FIGS. 12to 15 .

Referring to FIGS. 1, 12, 13 and 14 , description will be given of therotational range of speed control arm 46 corresponding to the operationrange of control lever 60R for forwardly rotating corresponding axle 2Rand drive wheel 3R. As mentioned above, the rear end of link rod 18 isfitted into connection hole 46 c in the upper end portion of speedcontrol arm 46, thereby operatively connecting speed control arm 46 ofright transaxle 1R to right control lever 60R via right link rod 18.Therefore, when right control lever 60R is rotated, right link rod 18 ispulled forward or pushed rearward, so that speed control arm 46 isrotated together with trunnion shafts 45 of movable swash plate 44 inright transaxle 1R. The rotation of speed control arm 46 and trunnionshafts 45 is centered on pivotal axis P1 that also serves as the pivotalaxis for rotation of relay arm 81 relative to transaxle casing 10 ofright transaxle 1R as mentioned above.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14 , as control lever 60R is rotated forwardfrom its neutral position for forwardly rotating right axle 2R, rightlink rod 18 moves rearward to rotate speed control arm 46counterclockwise around pivotal axis P1 so as to increase fluid inquantity delivered from hydraulic pump 40 in the direction for drivinghydraulic motor 50 for forward rotation of axle 2R. During thiscounterclockwise rotation of speed control arm 46, as understood fromFIG. 14 , pressure plate 46 b moves downward so as to push lower endportion El of neutral return spring 47 downward while upper end portionEu of neutral return spring 47 is retained by eccentric pin 49 so as tobe hindered from moving downward to follow lower end portion El, therebygenerating the force of neutral return spring 47 to bias lower endportion El upward toward upper end portion Eu so as to bias speedcontrol arm 46 toward its neutral position N where upper and lower endportions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 pinch pressure plate 46 btherebetween (see FIGS. 12 and 13 ). Accurately, the force of neutralreturn spring 47 biases speed control arm 46 toward a later-discussedpredetermined angle T1, however, until predetermined angle T1 isdiscussed, the force of neutral return spring 47 is temporarily definedas biasing speed control arm 46 toward neutral position N for theconvenience of description.

Consequently, when the operator takes off right control lever 60R fromthe operator's hand after right control lever 60R reaches a target speedset position (for example, a maximum angle T2 in FIG. 14 ) in theforward rotational direction from the neutral position, speed controlarm 46 automatically returns to a predetermined angle T1 by the biasingforce of neutral return spring 47, and right control lever 60Rautomatically returns onto the neutral position side (very slow speed).This mechanism to automatically return speed control arm 46 and controllever 60R advantageously lightens the operator's loads in manipulationfor reducing the traveling speed of right drive wheel 3R, and ensuressafe and prompt speed reduction of drive wheel 3R in response to anoperator's manipulation. The same mechanism that returns speed controlarm 46 onto the neutral position side is also provided in left transaxle1L, left link rod 18 and left control lever 60L.

However, conversely, the force of neutral return spring 47 biasing speedcontrol arm 46 toward neutral position N means that the operator has tokeep applying a force with the operator's hand to corresponding controllever 60R or 60L against the spring force of neutral return spring 47.In other words, the operator has to endure the resistance of controllever 60R or 60L against the operator's manipulation force, if theoperator wants to keep the rotational speed of drive wheel 3R or 3Lrealized by locating control lever 60R or 60L at the corresponding speedset position.

During a normal on-road travel of vehicle 100, such a resistance ofcontrol lever 60R or 60L against the operator's manipulation force doesnot become a problem because the operator often rotates each of controllevers 60R and 60L to change the rotational speed and direction ofcorresponding drive wheel 3R or 3L. In this traveling state of vehicle100, the average speed of drive wheels 3R and 3L is rather high. On thecontrary, a typical case where the problem occurs is that the lawn mowerserving as vehicle 100 travels straight for a long time at a relativelylow speed appropriate for mowing the lawn. During such a travel ofvehicle 100, the operator has to hold right and left control levers 60Rand 60L for a long time at respective determined speed positions againstthe resistances of control levers 60R and 60L.

Therefore, speed control arm 46 is configured so as to have a smallrotational angle range where its rotation does not generate the springforce of neutral return spring 47 biasing speed control arm 46 towardneutral position N. In this regard, actually, speed control arm 46located at its proper neutral position N accurately corresponding to theneutral position of movable swash plate 44 of hydraulic pump 40 is asshown in FIG. 12 , where eccentric pin 49 abuts at the lower end thereofagainst lower end portion El of neutral return spring 47, and isseparated at the upper end thereof from upper end portion Eu of neutralreturn spring 47 thereabove, while in halfways to upper and lower endportions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 pinches pressure plate 46b therebetween, i.e., to make upper and lower ends of pressure plate 46b abut against in halfways to upper and lower end portions Eu and El ofneutral return spring 47.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13 , as speed control arm 46 is rotatedcounterclockwise from neutral position N, lower end portion El ofneutral return spring 47 is pushed downward by pressure plate 46 b awayfrom the lower end of eccentric pin 49, and upper end portion Eu ofneutral return spring 47 tending to keep the gap between upper and lowerend portions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 to pinch pressureplate 46 b therebetween follows the downward movement of lower endportion El of neutral return spring 47 so as to approach the upper endof eccentric pin 49. When speed control arm 46 rotating counterclockwisefrom neutral position N reaches a predetermined angle T1, upper endportion Eu of neutral return spring 47 comes to abut against the upperend of eccentric pin 49.

In this way, during the rotation of speed control arm 46 between neutralposition N and predetermined angle T1, the gap between upper and lowerend portions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 to pinch pressureplate 46 b therebetween is kept, in other words, upper and lower endportions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 are kept to abut againstthe upper and lower ends of pressure plate 46 b, whereby neutral returnspring 47 does not bias speed control arm 46 toward any position.Therefore, the rotational angle range of speed control arm 46 fromneutral position N to predetermined angle T1 is defined as a dead zone dfor neutral return spring 47 in generating its spring force to biasspeed control arm 46 toward proper neutral position N as shown in FIG.12 .

In this regard, the technical feature for realizing the rotational anglerange of speed control arm 46 as the dead zone d for neutral returnspring 47 is that the dimension of pressure plate 46 b between its upperand lower ends is set greater than the diameter of eccentric pin 49(between its upper and lower ends) so that upper and lower end portionsEu and El of neutral return spring 47 pinching pressure plate 46 btherebetween has the gap greater than the diameter of eccentric pin 49,thereby spacing at least one of upper and lower end portions Eu and Elof neutral return spring 47 abutting against the upper and lower ends ofpressure plate 46 b from eccentric pin 49. Therefore, the difference ofthe gap between upper and lower end portions Eu and El of neutral returnspring 47 pinching pressure plate 46 b from the diameter of eccentricpin 49 equals the rotational angle range of speed control arm 46 betweenneutral position N and predetermined angle T1.

As far as control lever 60R is located in a low forward traveling speedsetting range to locate speed control arm 46 at any one position in therotational angle between neutral position N and predetermined angle T1,an operator can keep control lever 60R at a set desired low speedposition to keep the constant low speed rotation of corresponding drivewheel 3R freely from the resistance of control lever 60R caused by thespring force of neutral return spring 47 of right transaxle 1R.Therefore, the low speed setting ranges of control levers 60R and 60Lfor setting respective speed control arms 46 in the rotational angleranges between respective neutral positions N and respectivepredetermined angles T1 are available for traveling of vehicle 100 at aconstant low speed as mentioned above, thereby being advantageous forlightening the operator from fatigue.

When speed control arm 46 is further rotated counterclockwise frompredetermined angle T1 to maximum angle T2, the above-mentioned state ofneutral return spring 47 generating its force biasing speed control arm46 occurs, that is, upper end portion Eu of neutral return spring 47 iskept to abut against eccentric pin 49, and lower end portion El ofneutral return spring 47 is moved downward by pressure plate 46 b sothat the gap between upper and lower end portions Eu and El of neutralreturn spring 47 becomes greater than that to pinch pressure plate 46 btherebetween, thereby generating the spring force of neutral returnspring 47 biasing speed control arm 46 in the clockwise rotationaldirection. Therefore, the middle and high speed setting ranges ofcontrol levers 60R and 60L for setting respective speed control arms 46in the rotational angle ranges between respective predetermined anglesT1 and respective maximum angles T2 are available for the on-roadtraveling of vehicle 100 at various speeds with a relatively high speed.If an operator unexpectedly releases control lever 60R or 60L havingbeen located in the middle and high speed setting range from theoperator's hand, corresponding speed control arm 46 automaticallyreturns to predetermined angle T1 and decelerates so as to keep thesafety in travel of vehicle 100.

Incidentally, the biasing force neutral return spring 47 for clockwiserotation of speed control arm 46 equals to the upward pressure of lowerend portion El of neutral return spring 47 against the lower end ofpressure plate 46 b. This upward pressure of lower end portion El ofneutral return spring 47 is vanished when the upper end of pressureplate 46 b pushed upward by lower end portion El of neutral returnspring 47 comes to abut against upper end portion Eu of neutral returnspring 47. Pressure plate 46 b abuts against upper end portion Eu whenspeed control arm 46 rotating clockwise reaches predetermined angle T1.Therefore, as mentioned above, the spring force of neutral return spring47 actually functions to bias speed control arm 46 toward predeterminedangle T1 instead of neutral position N. To accurately stop each of drivewheels 3R and 3L, an operator has to consciously rotate correspondingcontrol lever 60R or 60L to its neutral position by the operator's ownmanipulation force so as to set corresponding speed control arm 46 atneutral position N.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 15 , description will be given of therotational range of speed control arm 46 corresponding to the operationrange of control lever 60R for backwardly rotating corresponding axle 2Rand drive wheel 3R.

As control lever 60R is rotated rearward from its neutral position forbackwardly rotating right axle 2R, right link rod 18 moves forward torotate speed control arm 46 clockwise around pivotal axis P1 fromneutral position N to a maximum angle T3 as shown in FIG. 15 , therebyincreasing fluid in quantity delivered from hydraulic pump 40 in thedirection for driving hydraulic motor 50 for backward rotation of axle2R. Referring to FIG. 12 , as mentioned above, when speed control arm 46is located at neutral position N corresponding to the neutral positionof movable swash plate 44, lower end portion El of neutral return spring47 abuts against the lower end of eccentric pin 49. Therefore, as soonas the clockwise rotation of speed control arm 46 from neutral positionN starts, pressure plate 46 b starts moving upward so as to separate itslower end from lower end portion El of neutral return spring 47 retainedby eccentric pin 49 and so as to push upper end portion Eu of neutralreturn spring 47 upward, so that the gap between upper and lower endportions Eu and El of neutral return spring 47 becomes greater than thatfor pinching pressure plate 46 b, thereby causing the biasing force ofneutral return spring 47 for counterclockwise rotation of speed controlarm 46.

In this way, the clockwise rotation range of speed control arm 46 fromneutral position N to maximum angle T3 in the direction for backwardrotation of axle 2R does not include such a range corresponding to thedead zone d of neutral return spring 47 as mentioned above. Therefore,the biasing force of neutral return spring 47 applied to speed controlarm 46 operated for backward rotation of axle 2R accurately biases speedcontrol arm 46 toward neutral position N, so that, when control lever60R having been rotated for backward rotation of axle 2R is releasedfrom the operator's manipulation force, control lever 60R automaticallyrotates forward until it reaches its neutral position corresponding toneutral position N of speed control arm 46. In this way, each of controllevers 60R and 60L resists with the force of neutral return spring 47against the operator's manipulation force if it is located at anyposition in its operation range for backward rotation of correspondingdrive wheel 3R or 3L. Therefore, if control levers 60R and 60L havingbeen located in these operation ranges are released from operator'shands, speed control arms 46 of respective transaxles 1R and 1Lautomatically return to respective neutral positions N by the forces ofrespective neutral return springs 47, so that vehicle 100 stopspromptly.

Next, exemplary modifications of transaxles 1L and 1R will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 17 to 21 . In the exemplary modificationsdescribed below, the link mechanism that connects trunnion shaft 45 tobrake operation shaft 79 has a configuration different from theconfiguration describe above. Note that in the following, thedescription is made using right transaxle 1R as an example. Note thatthe structure of left transaxle 1L and the structure of right transaxle1R are in symmetry to the center line indicating the longitudinaldirection of vehicle 100, and hence the detailed description of lefttransaxle 1L is omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 , in parking brake control mechanism 169, arelay arm 111 and link rod 83 are installed between link rod 19R on theright side and the lower end portion of parking brake arm 78 of righttransaxle 1R. Parking brake arm 78 extends downward.

Relay arm 111 functions such that the forward movement of right link rod19R (in the direction of arrow B0 shown in FIG. 17 ) in association withthe depression of parking brake pedal 64 (see FIG. 1 ) is converted intothe backward movement of link rod 83 installed between relay arm 111 andparking brake arm 78. As a result, in the case in which parking brake 69is operated, pressing terminal end 83 b of link rod 83 moves the lowerend portion of parking brake arm 78 to the rear side, and hence brakeoperation shaft 79 is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the leftside.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show the first configuration of parking brake controlmechanism 169. Transaxle 1R including parking brake control mechanism169 according to the first configuration includes a link mechanism 110configured to connect trunnion shaft 45 to brake operation shaft 79.Link mechanism 110 is composed of relay arm 111, link rod 83, andparking brake arm 78.

Link mechanism 110 includes an off-center pin 112 configured to regulaterotational range of relay arm 111. Off-center pin 112 projects from theleft side face of transaxle casing 10 configuring right transaxle 1R,and has length insertable into regulating part 111 f in a hole shape,described later, formed on relay arm 111. This off-center pin 112 isformed of a bar member, for example, projecting at a position eccentricto the bolt hole of the nut such that the screwed depth of the bolt holeis adjusted to change the position of off-center pin 112 to be disposed.Note that after the position of off-center pin 112 to be disposed isadjusted, off-center pin 112 is fixed using a double nut, for example,and hence the disposed position is fixed.

Relay arm 111 has a nearly L-shape, and includes an upper arm 111 aextending nearly upward and a rear arm 111 b extending nearly on therear side. Relay arm 111 is formed with a pivot hole 111 c near theboundary between upper arm 111 a and rear arm 111 b, at which relay arm111 is relatively rotatably supported on trunnion shaft 45 on the sidewhere trunnion shaft 45 is not manipulated. At the upper end portion ofupper arm 111 a extending upward from pivot hole 111 c, a mounting hole111 d is formed. At the end portion of rear arm 111 b extending frompivot hole 111 c to the rear side, a mounting hole 111 e is formed.

Relay arm 111 joins link rod 19R joined to mounting hole 111 d to linkrod 83 joined to mounting hole 111 e. Link rod 83 includes a turnbuckle84 in the halfway in the length direction such that the length isadjustable.

Link rod 83 is installed between relay arm 111 and parking brake arm 78,and extends nearly in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100.Specifically, the front end portion is starting end 83 a, the rear endportion is terminal end 83 b, and ends 83 a and 83 b are bent, and arerespectively inserted into mounting hole 111 e at the lower end portionof relay arm 111 and joining hole 78 b at the lower end portion ofparking brake arm 78. Starting end 83 a located at mounting hole 111 eis point P3. On the other hand, terminal end 83 b located at joininghole 78 b is point P4.

The rotation rotational center point of relay arm 111 that is the centerof trunnion shaft 45 is P1, and virtual reference line Y connectingpoint P1 to point P4 is set.

Here, the position of mounting hole 111 e is set such that point P3 ofstarting end 83 a of link rod 83 joined to relay arm 111 is not locatedon and is apart from virtual reference line Y in parking brake releasestate, or unbraking position, shown in FIG. 19A whereas point P3 islocated on virtual reference line Y or near line Y in the parking brakeoperating state, or braking position, shown in FIG. 19B. Relay arm 111includes a regulating part 111 f configured to regulate rotational rangeof relay arm 111. Regulating part 111 f is a rectangular hole formed onrelay arm 111, and off-center pin 112 is inserted into inner side of thehole. The contact position on the inner surface of regulating part 111 fto off-center pin 112 is adjustable by changing the position ofoff-center pin 112 to be disposed.

Here, the operation of link mechanism 110 will be described. FIGS. 17and 18 show parking brake control mechanisms 169 including linkmechanism 110 according to the first configuration. FIG. 17 shows righttransaxle 1R with parking brake 69 (see FIG. 3 ) released. FIG. 18 showsright transaxle 1R with parking brake 69 (see FIG. 3 ) operated. Inparking brake control mechanism 169 when parking brake 69 is releasedshown in FIG. 17 , parking brake arm 78 is rotated at the unbrakingposition. Relay arm 111 is rotated at the position where relay arm 111is nonrotatable further clockwise in FIG. 17 because the inner surfaceof regulating part 111 f contacts off-center pin 112. That is, therotation position of relay arm 111 is regulated such that relay arm 111is reliably at the unbraking position by regulating part 111 f andoff-center pin 112.

At this time, in the unbraking position, point P3 at starting end 83 aof link rod 83 is located at a substantial distance from virtualreference line Y.

Subsequently, after link rod 19R is displaced to the direction of arrowB0 shown in FIG. 17 in order to operate parking brake 69 (see FIG. 3 ),relay arm 111 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 17about the rotation center P1. At this time, parking brake arm 78 isrotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 17 correspondingly tothe displacement of link rod 83, resulting in the parking brake arm 78being in the braking position state as shown in FIG. 18 . Accordingly,parking brake 69 brakes the axle 2R of the transaxle 1R.

At this time, relay arm 111 is rotated to the position where relay arm111 is nonrotatable further counterclockwise in FIG. 17 because theinner surface of regulating part 111 f contacts off-center pin 112. Inthe transaxle 1R, when the inner side surface of regulating part 111 fcontacts off-center pin 112, point P3 at starting end 83 a of link rod83 is located on virtual reference line Y or near line Y.

In this braking position state in which point P3 at starting end 83 a oflink rod 83 is located on virtual reference line Y or near line Y, if anexternal force that rotates parking brake arm 78 clockwise acts on theaxle 2R or parking brake arm 78, for example, link rod 83 is constrainedby relay arm 111 and prevents parking brake arm 78 from being rotated,and hence parking brake 69 is not released. That is, an external forceacting on the axle 2R or parking brake arm 78 can be prevented fromcausing parking brake 69 to be unexpectedly released.

Note that as shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, between parking brake arm78 and off-center pin 112, a return spring 120 configured to impartclockwise moment to the parking brake arm 78 is installed. When parkingbrake arm 78 is at the braking position, the return spring 120 is pulledby parking brake arm 78 to generate return biasing force, but thepropping of link rod 83 stores and maintains biasing force. The biasingforce instantaneously moves parking brake arm 78 in the direction to therelease position when parking brake 69 is released.

FIGS. 20 and 21 show link mechanism 110 in a second configuration. Inlink mechanism 110 according to the second configuration, the positionalrelationship is set in which point P3 at starting end 83 a of link rod83 is over virtual reference line Y to relay arm 111 in the brakerelease state (unbraking position). On this point, link mechanism 110according to the second configuration is different from the linkmechanism according to the first configuration described above.

FIG. 20 shows right transaxle 1R with parking brake 69 (see FIG. 3 )released. At this time, point P3 at starting end 83 a of link rod 83 islocated a substantial distance away from virtual reference line Y, whichis not different from FIG. 17 described above.

Subsequently, after link rod 19R is displaced in the direction of arrowB0 shown in FIG. 20 in order to operate parking brake 69 (see FIG. 3 ),relay arm 111 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 20about the rotation center P1. At this time, parking brake arm 78 isrotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 20 correspondingly tothe displacement of link rod 83, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 21(the braking position). Accordingly, parking brake 69 brakes the axle 2Rof the transaxle 1R.

At this time, relay arm 111 is rotated to the position where relay arm111 is nonrotatable further counterclockwise in FIG. 21 because theinner surface of regulating part 111 f contacts off-center pin 112.Point P3 at starting end 83 a of link rod 83 is now located on theopposite side of virtual reference line Y from the side it of virtualreference line Y that it is on when the system is in the brake releasestate (unbracing position). In this embodiment, Point P3 is not locatedon virtual reference line Y when the system is in the braking position.

In this state, if an external force that rotates parking brake arm 78clockwise acts on the axle 2R or parking brake arm 78 momentarilyoccurs, the connection of link rod 83 acts to rotate relay arm 111counterclockwise about the rotation center P1 due to the external forcetransmitted through link rod 83. However, this motion is regulated byoff-center pin 112. Thus, parking brake 69 is not unexpectedly releaseddue to the external force acting on parking brake arm 78. That is,according to the second configuration of parking brake control mechanism169, the parking brake operating state (braking position) can beprevented from being unexpectedly released.

Next, a modified of the transaxles 1L and 1R will be described withreference to FIG. 22 . In the third modification described below, thetrunnion shaft 45, which is a continuously variable transmissionoperating shaft, is projected out of the case, and the relay arm 281 isrotatably supported on the trunnion shaft 45 such that it can rotaterelative to trunnion shaft 45. Relay arm 281 is further linked to thebrake operating shaft 79 as will be discussed below.

The link mechanism is provided in the same manner as in the firstembodiment. The link mechanism from the left and right control levers60R and 60L to the speed control arm 46 of the transaxles 1L and 1R isalso provided in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

For some of the ZTR cars, the rotation direction and rotation speed ofthe movable swash plate 44 of HST 20 of both left and right transaxles1R and 1L is changed with left and right control levers 60R and 60L, andwhen the speed control arm 46 is in the neutral position, the brakeoperating shaft 79 is moved to the lock position by moving the left andright control levers 60R and 60L to the parking position “P”.

On the base side of the left and right control levers 60R and 60L, atransmission manipulation unit 60 b that is supported by a transverseaxle (not shown) that is provided on the vehicle body and is rotatablearound the transverse axis X is provided. The lever body having a gripportion on the upper side is supported by a pin 60 c provided in thetransmission manipulation unit 60 b and facing the front-rear directionso as to be movable along an arc-shaped path in the direction of thefront-rear axis Y. Further, a lock operation unit 60 d is provided onthe opposite side of the grip portion. A link rod 18 is extendedrearward from the transmission manipulation unit 60 b of the left andright control levers 60R and 60L to the speed control arm 46 provided onthe distal side of the transaxle casing 10 of the left and righttransaxles 1R and 1L. The trunnion shaft 45 projects from both the leftand right sides of the casing 10, and the speed control arm 46 isprovided on the trunnion shaft 45 located on the proximal face side.Further, for the left and right transaxles 1L and 1R, a neutral returnspring 47 is also provided on the inner face of the transaxle casing 10provided with the speed control arm 46 in the same manner as in thefirst embodiment discussed above.

The right control lever 60R can be operated to change the rotation speedand direction of the right drive wheel 3R by changing the inclinationangle and direction of the movable swash plate 44 of the HST 20 (seeFIG. 3 for both) described later in the right transaxle 1R by movingspeed control arm 46 b. Further, the left control lever 60L can beoperated to change the rotation speed and direction of the left drivewheel 3L by changing the inclination angle and direction of the movableswash plate 44 of the HST 20 in the left transaxle 1L by moving speedcontrol arm 46 c. When the operator manually operates the left and rightcontrol levers 60R and 60L synchronously with the same amount ofoperation, the movable swash plates 44 of the HST 20 of the left andright transaxles 1R and 1L are synchronously controlled through themotions of the speed control arms 46 b and 46 c, and the straightrunning speed of the vehicle 100 in the forward direction or the reversedirection is changed. By changing the amount of operation of the leftand right control levers 60R and 60L, the turning direction, the turningangle, and the speed of the vehicle 100 can be controlled.

The left and right control levers 60R and 60L are regulated in themoving direction by the lever grooves 60Ra and 60La provided on thevehicle body cover. The lever grooves 60Ra and 60La are composed of along groove along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and ashort groove extending from the center of the long groove in thefront-rear direction to the outside of the vehicle body in theleft-right direction. As a result, when the left and right controllevers 60R and 60L are moved along the long groove, it is possible toselect a forward position in which each drive wheel 3L and 3R is rotatedin the forward direction, a backwards position in which each drive wheel3L and 3R is rotated in reverse, and a neutral position in which eachdrive wheel 3L and 3R is not rotating. When control levers 60R and 60Lare moved along the short grooves, it is possible to select the lockposition in which each drive wheel 3L and 3R is fixed and prevented fromrotating.

Lock operation unit 60 d of the left and right control levers 60R and60L is configured to interlock with the relay arm 281 via a directionchange link mechanism 290 and a link rod 19 (link rod 19L for thecontrol levew 60L and link rod 19R for control rod 60R). The directionchange link mechanism 290 is composed of a rod member 291 configured inan L shape in a plan view and a bell crank 292. One end of the rodmember 291 is locked to the upper and lower grooves of the lockoperation unit 60 d, and the other end is connected to one end of thebell crank 292. When the lock operation unit 60 d is tilted, the rodmember 291 is pushed inward of the vehicle body. The bell crank 292 isconfigured to be rotatable about a rotation axis 292 a on a planeorthogonal to the vertical direction, and the other end thereof isconnected to the link rod 19. The link rod 19 extends in the front-reardirection, and the other end thereof is connected to the relay arm 281.

The transaxle 1R includes a relay link mechanism 110 that links therelay arm 281 and the brake operating shaft 79. Link mechanism 110 iscomposed of the relay arm 281, a link rod 83, and a parking brake arm78.

The relay arm 281 has a long plate shape, and includes an upper armportion 281 a extending substantially upward and a lower arm portion 281b extending substantially downward. The relay arm 281 is freelyjournaled (i.e., is free to rotate) on the trunnion shaft 45 in thevicinity of the boundary between the upper arm portion 281 a and thelower arm portion 281 b.

The link rod 83 is interposed between and connects the relay arm 281 andthe parking brake arm 78, and extends substantially in the front-reardirection of the vehicle 100. When operating a parking brake 69, theleft and right control levers 60R and 60L at the N position are operatedto the lock position. The rod member 291 of the link mechanism 290 movestoward the inside of the vehicle body in conjunction with the movementof the lock operation unit 60 d of the left and right control levers 60Rand 60L, and the bell crank 292 rotates about the rotation axis 292 a sothat one end thereof tilts toward the inside of the vehicle body. Therotation of the bell crank 292 pulls the link rod 19 connected to theother end forward. As a result, the upper end, of the relay arm 281,connected to the other end of the link rod 19 rotates forward, and thelower end rotates backward. When the lower end of the relay arm 281rotates rearward, the link rod 83 is pushed rearward, so that the lowerend of the parking brake arm 78 moves rearward. As a result, the parkingbrake 69 is operated by rotating the brake operating shaft 79 clockwisewhen viewed from the right side.

With a configuration in this way, using the left and right controllevers 60R and 60L, the parking brake 69 is operated by simultaneouslytilting them from the neutral position in a direction different from thetransmission manipulation direction, that is, by tilting the left andright control levers 60R and 60L outward of the vehicle in the widthdirection.

Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a parking brakepedal or the like, and the number of parts can be reduced.

Next, a modification of the transaxles 1L and 1R will be described withreference to FIGS. 23 to 30 . In the fourth modification describedbelow, the configuration of the link mechanism for linking the relay arm111 and the brake operating shaft 79 is different from the configurationdescribed above. In the following, the right transaxle 1R will be mainlydescribed. Since the structure of the left transaxle 1L and thestructure of the right transaxle 1R are symmetrical with respect to thecenter line pointing the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100,detailed explanation of the left transaxle 1L is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 23 , in the parking brake operating mechanism 369, arelay arm 111 and the link rod 83 are interposed between the left andright link rods 19L and 19R and the lower end of the downwardlyextending parking brake arm 378 of the left and right transaxles 1L and1R. As shown in FIG. 24 , the relay arm 111 in the embodiment isjournalled on one end of the trunnion shaft 45 via a bearing bush 115,and is configured to float on the trunnion shaft 45 as in theembodiment. As will be described later, one end of the trunnion shaft 45is further extended outward, and a speed control interlocking arm 382 islocked so as to be juxtaposed with the outer side of the relay arm 111.When the speed control interlocking arm 382 moves and deviates from theneutral position, the relay arm 111 is configured to move the trunnionshaft 45 integrally with the trunnion shaft 45 via the speed controlinterlocking arm 382.

Then, the relay arm 111 functions to convert the pulling force of theright link rod 19R accompanying the depression of a parking brake pedal64 into the pushing force of the link rod 83. As a result, the parkingbrake 69 is operated. By pressing the link rod 83, the lower end of theparking brake arm 378 is rotated counterclockwise in the left side viewaround the brake operating shaft 79. The parking brake arm 378 isreferred to as the link mechanism 110 that links the relay arm 111 andthe brake operating shaft 79.

Further, the link mechanism 110 transmits the rotation of the parkingbrake arm 378 to the speed control arm 46. The link mechanism 110includes a speed control interlocking mechanism 380 that moves the speedcontrol arm 46 to a neutral position when the parking brake arm 378rotates in a case where there are the left and right control levers 60Rand 60L in the forward or reverse position.

As shown in FIGS. 23 and 25 , the speed control interlocking mechanism380 includes a push link 381 that is connected to the parking brake arm378 and the speed control interlocking arm 382 which is connected to thepush link 381, disposed coaxially with the speed control arm 46, androtates in conjunction with the speed control arm 46. Specifically, thepush link 381 is bent at the rear end as the starting end and insertedinto a mounting hole 378 e at the upper end of the parking brake arm378. A plate 381 b having a lost motion hole 381 c is provided at theterminal end of the push link 381.

The central portion of the speed control interlocking arm 382 isjournalled so as not to rotate with respect to the trunnion shaft 45(i.e., arm 382 rotates with speed control arm 46), and is configuredsuch that the rotation of the speed control arm 46 is transmitted to thespeed control interlocking arm 382. A first locking pin 383 is providedat one end of the speed control interlocking arm 382, and is set to havea length that allows it to contact with the rear end face of the relayarm 111. Also, first locking pin 383 passes through the lost motion hole381 c of the push link 381 in the middle. Further, a second locking pin384 is provided at the other end of the speed control interlocking arm382, and is set to have a length that allows it to contact the front endface of the relay arm 111.

Next, the forced movement to the speed control neutral position via thespeed control interlocking arm 382 when the parking brake pedal 64 isdepressed will be described with reference to FIGS. 26 to 30 .

As shown in FIG. 26 , when the parking brake pedal 64 is not depressed,the relay arm 111 is in a vertical state, and when the left and rightcontrol levers 60R and 60L are in the neutral position “N”, the speedcontrol interlocking arm 382 is tilted by about 45 degrees. In thisstate, the first and second locking pins 383 and 384 of the speedcontrol interlocking arm 382 are not in contact with the relay arm 111,and the second locking pin 384 is in the middle position of the lostmotion hole 381 c.

As shown in FIG. 27 , the configuration is set such that when theparking brake pedal 64 is not depressed and the left and right controllevers 60R and 60L are operated from the neutral position “N” to thereverse side, the speed control interlocking arm 382 tilts clockwisefrom the state shown in FIG. 26 via the trunnion shaft 45 to move in anarc so that the first and second locking pins 383 and 384 approach therelay arm 111 around the trunnion shaft 45, and when it moves to themaximum reverse position “Rmax”, the first locking pin 383 of the speedcontrol interlocking arm 382 comes into contact with the rear face ofthe relay arm 111, and the second locking pin 384 comes into contactwith the front face of the relay arm 111.

As shown in FIG. 28 in a case where the left and right control levers60R and 60L are in the maximum reverse position “Rmax”, when the parkingbrake pedal 64 is depressed, the link rod 19R is moved forward, so thatthe relay arm 111 moves counterclockwise. When the relay arm 111 movescounterclockwise, the first and second locking pins 383 and 384 thatcome into contact with the front and rear faces of the relay arm 111 arepushed, and the speed control interlocking arm 382 rotatescounterclockwise and return to the neutral position.

As shown in FIG. 29 , when the parking brake pedal 68 is not depressedand the left and right control levers 60R and 60L are operated from theneutral position “N” to the forward side, the speed control interlockingarm 382 tilts counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 26 via thetrunnion shaft 45. The configuration is set such that the first andsecond locking pins 383 and 384 makes a circular motion so as to be awayfrom the relay arm 111 around the trunnion shaft 45, and moves to themaximum forward position “Fmax”, and the first locking pin 383 comesinto contact with the rear end of the lost motion hole 381 c.

As shown in FIG. 30 , in a case where the left and right control levers60R and 60L are in the maximum forward position “Fmax”, when the parkingbrake pedal 68 is depressed, the link rod 19R is moved forward, so thatthe relay arm 111 moves counterclockwise. The link rod 83 moves rearwardwhen the relay arm 111 moves counterclockwise. The rearward movement ofthe link rod 83 causes the lower end of the parking brake arm 78 to moverearward, causing the brake operating shaft 79 to rotatecounterclockwise in the left side view. Further, the upper end of theparking brake arm 78 moves forward, and the push link 381 moves forward.The second locking pin 384, which is in contact with the rear end of thelost motion hole 381 c of the push link 381, is pushed forward by thepush link 381, and the speed control interlocking arm 382 is rotatedclockwise and return to the neutral position.

With this configuration, when the left and right control levers 60R and60L are in the reverse or forward position and the parking brake pedal68 is depressed, that is, when the relay arm 111 moves counterclockwise,the speed control interlocking arm 382 is moved to the neutral position,so that the left and right control levers 60R and 60L return to theneutral position. For this reason, even when the operator forgets toreturn the left and right control levers 60R and 60L accurately to theneutral position, the left and right control levers 60R and 60L can bereliably returned to the neutral position simply by depressing theparking brake pedal, so that it is possible to prevent the vehicle frommoving unexpectedly when restarting the engine.

Next, a modification of the transaxles 1L and 1R will be described withreference to FIGS. 31 to 35 . In the fifth modification described below,the configuration of the braking device for locking the rotation of theright and left axles 2R and 2L is different from the configurationdescribed above. In the following, the right transaxle 1R will be mainlydescribed. Since the structure of the left transaxle 1L and thestructure of the right transaxle 1R are symmetrical with respect to thecenter line pointing the front-rear direction of the vehicle 100,detailed explanation of the left transaxle 1L is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 31 , the braking device comprises a plurality of brakediscs 458, fixing plates 459 that are stacked alternately with the brakediscs 458, and a pressing arm 480 as a brake operating member thatpresses the brake discs 458 against the brake contact surface of each ofthe fixing plates 459 and the brake contact surface of motor supportingmember 456.

The brake discs 458 are fitted to the bevel pinion 71 fixed on the tipportion of the motor shaft 51. As shown in FIG. 32 and FIG. 33 , thebrake discs 458 have an inner gear tooth portion 458 a that can befitted to an outer gear tooth portion 71 a of the bevel pinion 71 so asnot to rotate relative to the outer gear tooth portion 71 a and isslidably fixed in the axial direction of the motor shaft 51. As shown inFIG. 31 and FIG. 35 , the bevel pinion 71 meshes with the bevel gear 73loosely fitted to the intermediate gear shaft 72. The bevel gear 73 isintegrally formed with the spur pinion 74.

As shown in FIG. 35 , the intermediate gear shaft 72 is pivotallysupported by upper housing 11 via right and left bearings 72 a and 72 bfixed in support portions 11 i of upper housing 11.

The bevel pinion 71 has a straight shape, and the outer gear toothportion 71 a of the bevel pinion 71 is formed so that the tooththickness and the tooth depth increase toward the base portion 71 b asusual. All the brake discs 458 are configured such that the inner toothgear portions 458 a are uniformly formed to have a size that can befitted to the outer gear tooth portion 71 a on the edge of base portion71 b. Since the motor shaft 51 is inclined upward, gravity acts on thefixed plates 459 and the brake discs 458 attached to the bevel pinion 71in the close contact direction. Since the bevel pinion 71 has a taperedshape in which the edge of the tooth tip becomes thinner from the baseportion 71 b toward the tip portion 71 c, when the brake disc 458rotates together with the motor shaft 51, a thrust against the gravityis generated on the inner tooth gear portion 458 a of the brake disc458. With such a configuration, the adhesion between the fixed plates459 and the brake discs 458 is weakened, and excessive wear and dragtorque can be reduced.

The fixing plates 459 are fixed to the motor shaft case 460 which is thetransaxle casing so as not to rotate relative to each other and areslidably fixed in the axial direction of the motor shaft 51. The fixingplate 459 and the motor shaft case 460 are fixed by fastening bolts 465.The motor shaft case 460 is a case that pivotally supports the motorshaft 51, and a bearing 461 is provided at the opening of the motorshaft case 460. The plungers 53 and the movable swash plate 54 arehoused in the motor shaft case 460.

The fixing plates 459 are composed of at least two differentthicknesses. The thickness of the fixing plate 459 closest to the distalend of the tip portion of motor shaft 51 (i.e., the fixing plate 459most fully visible in FIG. 35 ) is configured to be thicker than thethickness of the other fixing plates 459. With such a configuration,even when the outermost fixing plate 459 is pushed toward the base 71 bat the time of the braking operation, the fixing plate 459 does not fitbetween the base 71 b of the bevel pinion 71 and the bearing 361.

The fixing plate 459 includes a through hole 459 a having a diameterlarger than that of the outer gear tooth portion 71 a of the bevelpinion 71. The through hole 459 a is provided with a recess 459 u, whichis partially cut out radially outward. By providing the recess 459 u,the oil for cooling the brake discs 458 easily flows to the surfaces ofthe brake discs 458 and the fixing plates 459 and it is possible toprevent seizure. The recess 459 u of the fixing plate 459 on the mostdistal end side is configured to be larger than the recess 459 u of theother fixing plates 459. The recess 459 u of the fixing plate 459 on themost distal end side is formed on the opposite side of the recess 459 uof the other fixing plates 459 with the motor shaft 51 as the center.

As shown in FIG. 35 , the transaxle casing 10 includes an upper housing11, a lower housing 12, and a top cover 13. Bolts 16 are screwed upwardto fasten a flanged top edge of lower housing 12 to a bottom edge ofupper housing 11 fringing a bottom opening of upper housing 11. Bolts 17are screwed downward to fasten a flanged bottom edge of top cover 13 toa top edge of a rear half portion of upper housing 11 fringing a topopening of the rear half portion of upper housing 11. By joining upperhousing 11 and lower housing 12 to each other at respective horizontaljoint surfaces 11 k and 12 e thereof, a cavity of transaxle casing 10 isformed.

Right and left symmetric shaft holes 11 j are formed through right andleft side walls of upper housing 11, and laterally horizontal brakeoperation shaft 79 is pivotally supported at right and left end portionsthereof through right and left shaft holes 11 j rotatably relative toupper housing 11. The left end of brake operation shaft 79 projectingoutward from upper housing 11 is selected to have a parking brake arm 78fixed thereon. More specifically, brake operation shaft 79 has the endportion projecting outward from the proximal side surface of transaxlecasing 10 opposite the distal side surface of transaxle casing 10 fromwhich right axle 2R projects outward. Parking brake arm 78 is disposedin the proximal outside of transaxle casing 10 and is connected to theprojecting end portion of brake operation shaft 79 pivotally on the axisof brake operation shaft 79. A pressing arm 480 which is a brakeoperating member is fixed to the brake operating shaft 79.

As shown in FIG. 33 , the pressing arm 480 provides a predetermined gapbetween the fixing plates 459 and the brake discs 458 when the brakediscs 458 are not pressed. By providing such gap, it is possible tolimit the axial movement of the brake discs 458 and the fixing plates459 to a certain distance while preventing the brake disc from beingworn when the brake is not operated.

The pressing arm 480 has a brake finger 480 a that presses the fixingplates 459 toward the brake contact surface of the motor shaft case 460at the time of braking operation. In the FIG. 31 , the brake finger 480a at the time of braking operation is shown. At the time of brakingoperation, the brake finger 480 a is contacted with the outermost fixingplate 459 (i.e., the fixing plate closet to the distal end of the tipportion of motor shaft 51) at the time of braking operation. The part ofthe brake finger 480 a is disposed so as to cover the through hole 459 aof the fixing plates 459.

The brake finger 480 faces the outermost fixing plate 459 so as toprevent the brake discs 458 and the fixing plates 459 from coming offfrom the bevel pinion 71 when the brake is not operated. With such aconfiguration, the brake finger 480 a facing the outermost fixing plate459 can prevent the brake discs 458 and the fixing plates 459 fromcoming off from the bevel pinion 71 when the brake is not operated.

a stopper 491 is fixedly provided to the motor shaft case 460 at aposition facing the brake finger 480 a. The stopper 491 has aplate-shaped main body member 491 a. The stopper 491 has a first legportion 491 b formed by bending on one side of a plate-shaped main bodymember 491 a. The end of the first leg portion 491 b is made to face theoutermost fixing plate 459 to prevent the brake discs 458 and the fixingplates 459 from coming off from the bevel pinion 71.

The stopper 491 has a second leg portion 491 c formed by bending on oneside of a plate-shaped main body member 491 a. The end of the second legportion 491 c is penetrated into the openings 459 b provided in line ineach of the fixing plates 459 so as to prevent rotation of the fixingplates 459.

The stopper 491 has a first leg portion 491 b and a second leg portion491 c formed next to each other by bending on one side of a plate-shapedmain body member 491 a. The second leg portion 491 c is configured to belonger than the first leg portion 491 b. One first leg portion 491 b isprovided at the center of the main body member 491 a in the widthdirection. The second leg portion 491 c is provided at both ends of themain body member 491 a in the width direction, and is formed with alength capable of penetrating into the opening 459 b of the fixing plate459 on the most base end side.

The end of the first leg portion 491 b faces the outermost fixing plate459. More specifically, the end of the first leg portion 491 b facesbetween the left and right openings 459 b of the fixed plate 459. Withsuch a configuration, the first leg portion 491 b prevents the brakediscs 458 and the fixing plates 459 from coming off from the bevelpinion 71. The end of the second leg portion 491 c is penetrated intothe aligned openings 459 b provided in each of the fixing plates 459 toprevent the fixing plate 459 from rotating.

It is further understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoingdescription is given to preferred embodiments of the disclosed apparatusand that various changes and modifications may be made without departingfrom the scope thereof defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transaxle with a brake comprising: a transaxlecasing; an axle supported by the transaxle casing; a continuouslyvariable transmission disposed in the transaxle casing, wherein a motorshaft of the continuously variable transmission is supported by a motorsupporting member; and a braking device that is disposed in thetransaxle casing and is configured to lock a rotation of the axle,wherein the braking device comprises: a plurality of brake discs, aplurality of fixing plates that are stacked alternately with the brakediscs, a brake operating member that presses the brake discs against abrake contact surface of each of the fixing plates and the motorsupporting member, and a stopper fixedly provided to the transaxlecasing at a position facing the brake operating member, wherein thebrake discs have an inner gear tooth portion that are fitted to an outergear tooth portion of an output gear of the motor shaft so as not torotate relative to the outer gear tooth portion, wherein the brake discsare slidably fixed in an axial direction of the motor shaft, wherein thefixing plates are fixed to the transaxle casing so as not to rotaterelative to each other and are slidably fixed in the axial direction ofthe motor shaft, and wherein the brake operating member provides apredetermined gap between the fixing plates and the brake discs when thebrake discs are not pressed.
 2. The transaxle with a brake according toclaim 1, wherein the brake operating member has a brake finger thatpresses the fixing plates toward the brake contact surface of the motorsupporting member at the time of braking operation, and wherein thebrake finger faces the outermost fixing plate so as to prevent the brakediscs and the fixing plates from coming off from the output gear whenthe brake is not operated.
 3. The transaxle with a brake according toclaim 1, the output gear is configured as a bevel gear having a straightshape.
 4. The transaxle with a brake according to claim 1, wherein thestopper has a first leg portion formed by bending on one side of aplate- shaped main body member, and wherein the end of the first legportion is made to face the outermost fixing plate to prevent the brakediscs and the fixing plates from coming off from the output gear.
 5. Atransaxle with a brake comprising: a transaxle casing; an axle supportedby the transaxle casing; a continuously variable transmission disposedin the transaxle casing, wherein a motor shaft of the continuouslyvariable transmission is supported by a motor supporting member; and abraking device that is disposed in the transaxle casing and isconfigured to lock a rotation of the axle, wherein the braking devicecomprises: a plurality of brake discs, a plurality of fixing plates thatare stacked alternately with the brake discs, and a brake operatingmember that presses the brake discs against a brake contact surface ofeach of the fixing plates and the motor supporting member, wherein thebrake discs have an inner gear tooth portion that are fitted to an outergear tooth portion of an output gear of the motor shaft so as not torotate relative to the outer gear tooth portion, wherein the brake discsare slidably fixed in an axial direction of the motor shaft, wherein thefixing plates are fixed to the transaxle casing so as not to rotaterelative to each other and are slidably fixed in the axial direction ofthe motor shaft, wherein the brake operating member provides apredetermined gap between the fixing plates and the brake discs when thebrake discs are not pressed, wherein the brake operating member has abrake finger that presses the fixing plates toward the brake contactsurface of the motor supporting member at the time of braking operation,wherein the brake finger faces the outermost fixing plate so as toprevent the brake discs and the fixing plates from coming off from theoutput gear when the brake is not operated, wherein a stopper is fixedlyprovided to the transaxle casing at a position facing the brake finger,wherein the stopper has a leg portion formed by bending on one side of aplate-shaped main body member, and wherein the end of the leg portion isdisposed in an opening provided in each of the fixing plates so as toprevent rotation of the fixing plates, wherein the openings are aligned.6. A transaxle with a brake comprising: a transaxle casing; an axlesupported by the transaxle casing; a continuously variable transmissiondisposed in the transaxle casing, wherein a motor shaft of thecontinuously variable transmission is supported by a motor supportingmember; and a braking device that is disposed in the transaxle casingand is configured to lock a rotation of the axle, wherein the brakingdevice comprises: a plurality of brake discs, a plurality of fixingplates that are stacked alternately with the brake discs, and a brakeoperating member that presses the brake discs against a brake contactsurface of each of the fixing plates and the motor supporting member,wherein the brake discs have an inner gear tooth portion that are fittedto an outer gear tooth portion of an output gear of the motor shaft soas not to rotate relative to the outer gear tooth portion, wherein thebrake discs are slidably fixed in an axial direction of the motor shaft,wherein the fixing plates are fixed to the transaxle casing so as not torotate relative to each other and are slidably fixed in the axialdirection of the motor shaft, wherein the brake operating memberprovides a predetermined gap between the fixing plates and the brakediscs when the brake discs are not pressed, wherein the brake operatingmember has a brake finger that presses the fixing plates toward thebrake contact surface of the motor supporting member at the time ofbraking operation, wherein the brake finger faces the outermost fixingplate so as to prevent the brake discs and the fixing plates from comingoff from the output gear when the brake is not operated, wherein astopper is fixedly provided to the transaxle casing at a position facingthe brake finger, wherein the stopper has a first leg portion and asecond leg portion formed next to each other by bending on one side of aplate-shaped main body member, wherein the second leg portion isconfigured to be longer than the first leg portion, and wherein the endof the first leg portion is made to face the outermost fixing plate onto prevent the brake discs and the fixing plates from coming off fromthe output gear, and wherein the end of the second leg portion isdisposed in an opening provided in each of the fixing plates so as toprevent rotation of the fixing plates, wherein the openings are aligned.